Steal Your Heart
by colormyheartred
Summary: modern au prompt: "I see you jogging around my block every morning so I guess it's my fault I accidentally left my curtains open when changing while you passed by" Captain Swan.
1. Chapter 1

She's seen him running around the neighborhood more than once. Everyday for the past five weeks she's seen him, his ear buds in, that determined look on his face, and sweat clinging so desperately to his tank top.

But she's also seen him at the grocery store (she's pretty sure she'll never be able to look at the fruit stand without remembering the way his muscles had flexed, the way that shirt fit him so tightly, and how his hair had been particularly messy), and at the bank (his laughter booming through the building as he teased the teller was enough to give her particularly interesting dreams for _days_ ), and it's getting ridiculous because one day last week, she was picking Henry up from school and she saw him eating at a café on the corner (coffee and a sandwich, but she's not paying _that_ much attention to him).

Emma Swan is _not_ one to pine. She knows what she wants and she goes for it.

But every time she gets even a half opportunity to say something, at the post office last Friday, for example, her tongue decides to stop working and he winks at another woman instead of flirting with her like she wants him to.

(That in itself is an incredibly ridiculous thought to have. Emma Swan does _not_ admit to liking the feeling of having a man _wink_ at her.)

(Though, she's heard him talk and it's the most beautiful sound she's ever heard coming past the lips of a man, so maybe it's not just his looks that she's in for.)

Henry's staying the weekend over at Neal's, so Emma finds herself hovering in the living room, waiting to see if he'll come by at the same time he usually does.

To no real surprise, he does.

Emma bites down on her lip while she watches him. It's particularly hot today and it shows in the redness of his cheeks as he exerts himself.

He usually passes by her place a few times every morning before resolving himself to what she presumes is going home.

It gives her an opportunity to time his laps and she decides after lap two exactly what she'll do.

..

Killian's feet hit the pavement with well-timed thuds as he listens to music.

Going for his daily jog has become something he looks forward to. Mostly because he can see the blonde at address 2201 most days, sitting in her living room, being the most gorgeous woman he's ever set eyes on.

He's not naïve. He's seen her around town plenty of times and has equal opportunity to speak with her, but… he's seen her and her son in discussions (sometimes, quite heated by the looks of things), and he's seen her doing yoga through the massive front window, and he's seen her being simple- reading or typing.

He's sort of ashamed to admit that he's put her up on a mantel. She's untouchable because he's seen into her life and he's afraid that speaking with her might crush whatever misconception he'd dreamed up for her personality.

It doesn't help that she's bloody gorgeous, what with her blonde curls and her tight workout clothes.

This morning, he'd seen her doing yoga on her mat, but then she'd disappeared, so he's hoping to catch one more glimpse of her before he has to go back home.

Her house is on the right and he has to be careful to not be _obvious_ about gazing off in its direction, but he nearly ends up tripping on his own feet when he glances over to find that she's got her curtains fully drawn and she's stripping out of her tank top at just the angle that doesn't reveal _too_ much, but he can _definitely_ see the curve of her breast and it's enough that he slows to a stop.

His breaths come out in pants and he holds his jaw open as he stares unabashedly into her living room while she puts her bra on, her fingers nimble as she clasps it together.

She leans over, giving him a fair look at her arse, and he wets his lips, glancing around a little to see if anyone else could see this little show he's getting. He feels as if he's intruding, it's bad form to gawk at a woman while she's dressing- but- he can't rip himself away.

His mystery woman turns a little toward him and he's frozen as she meets his eyes, a little wry smile filling her lips, as if she'd _expected_ this.

"Bloody hell," he murmurs, reaching up to shove a handful of his hair back.

Her shirt falls slowly over her head, their eyes never breaking with the exception of the fabric in the way, and his breathing somehow increases with the layers of clothing she's got on.

The blonde bites on her lip as she gathers her hair up into a ponytail and he swears under his breath.

It's ridiculous that he's never spoken with her.

She flashes him a smirk and laughs, looking around her for a moment before grabbing her panties and holding them up, as if daring every last ounce of restraint he has.

..

Emma isn't sure what she's doing. Showing him her panties was _probably_ a step too far. She'd already given him a good eyeful of everything else and he'd _stopped_ , so she isn't really sure what else should be done.

He hesitates for a few moments outside before he determinedly starts for her front door, and Emma swears she's never moved faster in her life.

He doesn't have to knock for her to open her door and there's an awkward beat of silence before they both say, "Hi," at the same time.

She bites on her lip again, because staring at him this close, he's still sweaty and he has the messiest hair she's ever seen. And then she steps forward, closing the distance the doorway put between them.

"I keep meaning to speak with you," he says in that low accent of his.

But he's staring at her lips and she's trying to keep the upper hand, but she's in too deep because she's been _staring_ at him for weeks now, watching and wondering, and now he's here on her doorstep, sweaty and breathless, and she can't help thinking she wants to lick that sweat right off of that ridiculous collarbone of his.

"Yeah?" Emma asks, forcing herself to look him in the eye.

"Aye," he grins. "Killian Jones, at your service."

Emma looks at his extended hand before moving hers to shake. "Emma Swan."

"A pleasure," Killian says, and the look in his eyes is pure desire, almost hidden by the friendly grin on his face.

He rubs a circle into the knuckle of her thumb before she pulls her hand back and she eyes him, swallowing thickly.

Emma Swan does _not_ _do this_.

But she _is_.

She's completely out of her element and she's not sure what got into her in the first place.

"Well, I guess now that we've met, I'll talk to you later, Killian."

The tension is thick as she takes a step back, their eyes locked. "Aye. I suppose so, Swan."

When she doesn't close the door, he steps forward and she nearly collides with him in her eagerness to kiss him, her hand gripping his shirt, the kiss all teeth and hot, desperate breath, tongues lazy in their escapes.

She backs him into the house, pushing the door closed with him against it, and it takes her phone ringing for her to realize that kissing a man she just met is probably a bad idea.

Emma steps back and shakes her head at him when he opens his mouth to speak. "That was…"

She answers him as she moves swiftly toward the couch where she'd left her phone. "A one time thing. I'm sorry- I shouldn't have in the first place."

He looks _wrecked_ by her and she shouldn't feel bad, but she kind of does.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Emma, it's me."

Emma's mood is dampened instantly. "Right."

She glances over at the man standing in her living room and apologetically shakes her head. He seems to get it, nodding as he opens up the door to leave.

..

He doesn't _want_ to leave, he'd rather stay and figure out whatever the hell this dance between them is, but something changes the moment she answers the phone. It becomes awkward and things are smashed to pieces.

She's not just the gorgeous woman in the window anymore.

She's _Emma_ and he's kissed her lips.

He's not sure what it all means, but he's more than certain he's not going to be able to just forget what happened.

Especially the little noise she'd made as his hand slid up her side beneath her shirt, or the way she'd clung so desperately to him, their kiss deep and full of desire.

Killian shakes his head as he jams his ear buds back into his ears.

 _A one time thing_ his arse.


	2. Chapter 2

She avoids him at all costs.

It's not that she's embarrassed about their encounter. They're both adults; what happened was just a culmination of pent up sexual frustration and she's sure Killian Jones understands what that means.

But avoiding her windows and staring out to check on her attractive neighbor, while necessary, proves to be more difficult as time passes on.

She'd rather _not_ think about him so much, but it occurs to her one morning as she's doing yoga with her curtains closed that he had sort of become a staple in her morning routine for all of those weeks.

She remembers what he'd looked like, standing at her doorstep with sweat sliding down his neck and coating his forehead in a light sheen. His hair had been slightly damp, too, jutting messily outward, and she could taste that salt on his tongue when she'd kissed him.

Damn, she still dreams about that kiss, even though she's tried her hardest to forget it.

Somehow, she's been lucky enough in the week since their interaction to not run into him or see him out in town. Part of her wonders if it's because _he's_ trying to avoid _her_ too.

She doubts it. She'd seen his face, how completely and utterly _wrecked_ he'd been.

And the thing is, she's not sure if she saw him again, she'd know what to say or do.

..

The next time he sees Emma Swan, it's a dreary Friday afternoon the week after their kiss and he's standing in the grocery store, trying to decide what frozen dinner he'll heat up tonight.

She's like light, her hair golden and bright in contrast to the dimness of the grocery shop. And she's alone, gusting past his aisle for another.

He's _missed_ her, and it confuses him, because they've only met but once, and under very presumptuous circumstances.

Killian casually wanders out of the aisle and turns the direction she'd headed off to, discovering her standing in front of the cough drops, her teeth digging into her lower lip while she considers the display.

Bloody hell, if she isn't the most gorgeous woman he's ever set eyes on.

"Fancy meeting you here," Killian says casually, stepping in with a wide smile on his face.

She looks up at him with big eyes, as if she hadn't expected to see him here, and her jaw falls open. "Oh, um… hi, Killian." She smiles a little, then looks to the display again.

Killian cocks his head to the side and dwells in the awkward silence that befalls them, trying to find the words to say as if he's grasping at straws. Who knew it could be so _awkward_? He's kissed plenty of women in his day and he's never run out of things to say afterward.

"Are you ill?"

"No," she sighs. "My kid is. He caught it while he was over at his dad's. _Apparently_ , it's been going around the apartment complex."

Clearly, her feelings for her son's father are less than positive by the way she scowls at the mere mention of him. She plucks up a bag of cough drops and puts them in her basket before turning slightly.

"Um…" She searches his eyes and he feels that tension again, the same type he'd felt while he'd been watching her dress through her living room window.

He swallows down those memories with a tiny shake of his head. He may have felt something, may _still_ feel something for this woman, but he's a _gentleman_ and he refuses to act like anything less than that.

"Can we talk?" he asks quickly. "About what happened the other day? I- I don't usually go around kissing beautiful women without explanation and-"

Emma gives him a hard look, scoffing a little under her breath with a small quirk in her lips. "It was just a kiss." It feels like a knife to the heart and he's not sure why. "We're both adults. It was just… fun, I guess."

She presses her lips together in a line and he knows he's irked something in her, but he's not sure what. Perhaps it's her past, this relationship she's got with the father of her son.

Killian makes the best of the turn in conversation with a shrug. "What if I just wanted to get to know you better?"

She shakes her head. "I- I don't know. I don't have time."

Killian chuckles. "Come now, you've got time now while you shop. I'll introduce myself first. The name's Killian Jones. I'm the owner of a small maritime business at the docks. I have a kitten I've named Mister Smee. I come from England and I've got an older brother who still lives there with his family."

He smiles at her gently, lifting his eyebrow in anticipation for her to play fair.

Emma just scoffs and turns to the shelf, grabbing a box of medicine. "Okay, well I guess… I'm Emma Swan. Got a ten year old kid and I'm a bail bondsperson. Not much else to know."

She takes a step away from him and toward the aisle with tissue, causing him to follow on her heel like a puppy.

"And how does a beautiful woman such as yourself get into a line of work like bail bonds?"

She flashes him a little smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Bloody hell. She knows exactly what she's doing, doesn't she? She's playing him like a finely tuned instrument, awarding him with suggestive glances and short answers, all while looking every bit the most beautiful woman he's ever set eyes on. And she _knows_ the effect she has on him.

She searches his eyes and he sees her falter, almost, as if she's taken aback by the fact that he hasn't run from her, as she decides whether or not trusting him will be worth her time.

"Perhaps I would."

It's his words that have her snapping her gaze away from him, to the shelf, where she plucks up a box of tissue and sets it in her basket before sucking in a breath.

"So I guess I'll see you, Killian."

He opens his mouth and shakes his head slightly as he watches her start to pass him by. He reaches for her arm, grabbing it gently so she'll look at him. "Go out with me."

Emma does that _thing_ again, throws up those walls he's only had the pleasure of knowing while he's been around her, and she gives him a thinly veiled shake of her head.

"You don't want that."

Killian arches his eyebrow at her. "No? I think I should be the judge of that."

She just shakes her head again. "You're ridiculous."

"Am not. If anyone's being ridiculous, it's you."

The blonde narrows her eyes at him slightly. "How do I know I can even trust you? Do you do this a lot? Track down women you've kissed and harass them in the grocery store?"

"Lass, _you_ kissed _me_. I don't think you should place all of the blame on me. It takes two to tango."

Again, she rolls her eyes, and scoffs under her breath. "I'll see you around."

He watches her go and has to bite his tongue to prevent himself from saying anything more.

If this second meeting with Emma Swan has taught him anything, it's that he's more determined than ever to win her heart, or at least to see her without her walls so damn high.

She's impossible and she's all he's been able to think of since she gave him the little show through her living room window prior to the kiss that left him so breathless. He's not sure he'll ever be able to forget her now.

..

The morning after her interaction with Killian at the grocery store, Emma opens her front door to the sight of a little basket awaiting her on the porch stoop.

With narrowed eyes, she leans down to take it, finding a note attached to the handle that she flips up.

 _Swan-_

 _With your lad sick as he is, I figured I could offer you an old English remedy. Tea with lemon and honey always used to do the trick for a sore throat._

 _-Killian_

 _PS- Comic books are always a good time waster. I had them packed in a box in my attic. I figure your lad would enjoy them a lot more than I._

With her tongue pressed against the inside of her cheek, Emma glances around to see if the man is nearby, watching for her reaction.

He's not, and she's glad, because she smiles as she carries the basket back inside.

Henry is lying on the couch, looking miserable and weak, and she holds the basket in her arms, looking at the items inside with a tiny shake of her head. If Killian thinks he can butter her up by getting through to her kid, then he's probably got another thing coming.

"Who's that from?" Henry asks through a stuffy nose.

She shrugs. "Not sure. I guess we have a secret admirer."

Henry grins and she plucks out the comic books- _The Avengers_ \- to hand them to her son who is lying on the couch.

"Here, I think these are for you."

His eyes grow wide with excitement and she has to laugh when he takes them from her, eagerly opening up the top edition.

"Well, whoever they are," Henry says, smiling up at her, "they're _awesome_."

Her heart flutters just a little. Maybe she's been too hard on Killian. Maybe he really _isn't_ that bad.

..

His daily runs are something he starts to look forward to. Again.

Since he made the strategic play of dropping off a basket to the Swan household, the curtains have remained open.

Sometimes, he sees Emma in passing, but most of the time, it's just her living room, bare and without life. But it's not the only time he sees her. Lately, he sees her in the most random of places.

He'll see her at the post office with a package to ship, or at the gas station just leaving after having filled her tank. Once, he ran into her directly on the sidewalk as he made his way back to work after a lunch break.

She'd gotten flustered and blinked up at him, and he'd been unable to really speak either, so they just kind of said hello and went on their way.

It does bother him that he's unable to form coherent sentences around Emma Swan, but he's not sure what else he can do to break through her walls and get to see her again.

It's a week after he dropped the basket off at her place that he sees something completely different through Emma's living room window.

Instead of seeing a fleeting glimpse of Emma Swan, he sees her in all of her early morning aerobic glory, her hair thrown up high, her arms stretched out and her leg pressed against her inner thigh as she does a yoga pose, and he's even more breathless, slowing to a stop because he truly doesn't know what else to do.

She opens her eyes at that moment and he feels his heart rate quicken as she lowers her foot to the floor, her arms falling to her sides. She stares at him and he licks his lips as he determinedly heads up her driveway to her door, not wanting to waste any more time not knowing what to say or arguing with her about whether or not going on a date is the best course of action.

They're both adults, and he happens to know that she's a bloody damn good kisser.

The least they can have is _this_.

..

Emma hesitates when she sees him start for her front door. She's not sure what he could possibly want, or if she wants to let him have it, because the last few times she's seen him, it's been the most awkward she's felt in her life.

Kissing him one time shouldn't have this effect on her, and she's not sure why he's so adamant on making conversation with her, because the tension between them has been purely physical from the get-go.

She wipes her fingers on her thighs before heading to her door, biting down on her lip nervously, and when he knocks, she opens it as casually as she can.

He's standing there, sweaty and still breathing a little hard, and his eyebrows are dipped so he's smoldering at her, his lips curved in the slightest of smirks.

Neither of them says anything. But then again, it's been impossible to since their talk in the grocery store, so why would they?

He steps toward her and takes his warm, calloused hand to cup her cheek, his nose brushing just against hers, making her eyes shut.

"You can't be here," she mumbles when his forehead presses to hers. "My kid is going to get up soon and-"

"Don't overthink this, Swan," he says on a whisper, and it's not like she needs him to tell her that, because she's thought about kissing him since the moment he walked out of her place the last time.

She moves forward when he does and their lips meet, a blissful sensation shooting through her as she grabs at his shirt and yanks him back into her home.

He presses his hand against her hip as she closes the door, quietly because her kid is still asleep- he will be for maybe a half hour more and she just- she _needs_ this.

Her breath comes out loud when they part briefly, Emma pushing him back against the door, and he allows her to do her worst, biting down on his lip to be awarded a grunt.

Her hands grasp at his shirt, balling it into fists to take him closer to her, but his hands are firm on her hips, and he turns them around, placing her back against the door instead, forcing her hands away from his chest.

Their breathing is loud and she gasps when he moves his lips from hers, instead pressing them to her jaw and down her neck. It makes her eyelids flutter closed, her head pressing back against the door, and he smirks against her skin, she feels it as he nips at the spot below her ear, quick to soothe it over with his tongue.

"You shouldn't-" she pants, swallowing, "-you shouldn't be here."

He hums, kissing his way back to her lips, this time darting his tongue into her mouth, much to her delight. Her belly twists, pleasure zipping down to her toes.

It's so wrong for her to be enjoying this, isn't it? She doesn't know Killian, and she _can't_ know Killian.

Relationships have _always_ steered her wrong.

But _this_ , being here with him now, it's the only thing that's felt right in a long time.

He leans his forehead against hers again and they breathe in each other, standing so impossibly close that she almost laughs, because for two people who haven't been able to hold a conversation since they kissed for the first time, this actually feels kind of comfortable.

"You really need to take a shower," she says suddenly, making him pull away from her with a wry look on his face.

"Is that an offer, Swan?"

Emma rolls her eyes, shaking her head. "No."

He separates himself from her and she pulls open her front door for him, meeting his eyes and finding him surprisingly content.

"So I'll see you later, then?" he asks, stepping closer to her, his hand pressing to her hip, and she looks up at him, searching his eyes as she tries to not let him win her over with just _two_ really great make out sessions.

Emma just creeps up onto her toes and kisses him chastely, enough that he chases her for more that she consents to with a little laugh on her lips.

"Yeah. Later."

He smiles softly at her, obviously pleased with her response, and she watches him go, holding the door open just slightly.

Nibbling at her lip, she shakes her head.

"How did you do that, Killian?" she mumbles to herself. "How did you get through to me?"


End file.
